A Tasty Lentil Salad

I grew up in a land of lentils. Nestled among the softly rolling hills of a region called the Palouse, my hometown grows a third of the nation’s lentils. We are also the proud home of the National Lentil Festival, held at the end of each summer. Back home, the festival is just starting and will continue all weekend. This post is in honor of the Lentil Festival and for my love of my little hometown and its tasty lentils.

This is one of the only times in my life that I’ve missed the Lentil Festival. It was the big event of the summer in a little town like mine (known only for its lentils and the state university that makes up more than half the population); it signified the bittersweet end of summer but meant a weekend of entertainment, delicious food, and catching up with friends before school started the following week.

In the last several years the Lentil Festival has increased in size and popularity. The Friday night street fair now offers the world’s Largest Bowl of Lentil Chili (which holds something like 350 gallons, I believe), a hearty, delicious, and spicy chili that I love. On Saturday morning there’s a parade that travels through all four blocks of downtown and features the festival’s mascot Tase T. Lentil riding the Lentil Express train car. Afterwards, the park downtown has all kinds of activities to keep a person occupied and full of lentils. My personal favorites are the lentil ice cream made by the local ice cream parlor (it’s creamy, crunchy, and nutty) and the sampling portion of the Legendary Lentil Cook-Off. People all across the country (I’m not kidding) send in recipes for this contest. The top six recipes are then tasted by lucky people at the festival like me, who then vote on their favorites. In recent years, as fewer of my friends are in town for the festival, the cook-off has been one of my main motivations to go to the festival. There is always such an interesting assortment of dishes to sample–from tarts and cakes to soups, dips, and salads. You can check out last year’s recipes here.

I’ve always liked lentils and this summer I’ve discovered several easy ways to prepare them. One of my favorites was this lentil salad recipe that I stumbled on the other week. It’s a great salad: summery, full of vegetables, and simple to personalize according to your tastes. It also fed me and my housemate for at least three days :)

A Tasty Lentil Salad

Recipe adapted from Alice Waters’ Lentil Salad

1 cup lentils
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 -3 Tbsp finely diced shallot
3 Tbsp chopped parsley

optional ingredients
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup each of carrot, celery, and/or onion: cook in a frying pan in a drizzle of olive oil until tender; cool before adding to the salad
1/4 cup red,orange, or yellow sweet bell pepper: season with a few dashes of sea salt (or regular salt) and let stand for 10-15 minutes (to soften) before adding to the salad
feta cheese for garnish

Sort and rinse the lentils, then place them in a saucepan and cover with water by about 3 inches. Bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. (You can reserve a 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid in case the lentils are stuck together later, but I found I didn’t need to use my reserved cooking liquid.)

Transfer the lentils to a large bowl and then toss with the red wine vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Let the lentils sit about 10 minutes, then add more red wine vinegar, salt, and/or pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, shallots, and parsley. Add this mixture to the lentils and toss well. At this point add a little of the reserved cooking liquid if needed to loosen dry or stuck together lentils.

Add optional vegetables and/or garnish with feta. This salad keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge, add feta only at the time of serving to avoid soggy cheese.